Reduce Fibromyalgia Pain with Exercise

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When you live with fibromyalgia pain, and your body aches all over, the last thing you think of is exercising. Only the thought of moving your arms and legs a little bit makes you cringe inside when getting out of bed and doing your daily chores takes a lot of effort and willpower from you. It seems impossible.

However, know that studies show, and many other people suffering from fibromyalgia, just like you, have discovered that, surprisingly, some types of physical activity, such as low impact exercise are, in fact, beneficial for you, may reduce the pain and symptoms, and can even improve the quality of your life.

Walking, swimming, aerobics, Pilates, Tai chi, Yoga sound more like fun, isn’t it? Well, we’re going to do them together, me and you, to reduce fibromyalgia pain. Put the swimming suit on, and let’s clap ’em flippers.

What are the Benefits of Low-Impact Exercise for Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is hard to diagnose and not-yet-understood chronic condition with unknown causes that manifests as long-lasting, persistent, and excruciating pain in all your body. The most painful areas are your knees, elbows, back, and neck. It impacts your quality of sleep and your ability to move. Often, it leads to depression.

“Let’s exercises?”

“Whaaat? No, thank you. It hurts, and I am already in pain. I don’t want to suffer more than I am. I don’t want to feel worse. I’d rather lay in bed and not move a hurting muscle.”

Don’t give up so easily. It’s not like you’re training for boxing competition. Only suggesting what doctors recommend: smooth physical movements that will not hurt; instead, they will help you tremendously. We promise.

Benefits of Low-Impact Exercises:

  • Improve the ability to move
  • Increase the flexibility and range of motion to muscles and joints
  • Manage your weight
  • Decreases your high blood pressure (associated with stress)
  • Improve blood circulation
  • Give you more energy
  • Reduce the fatigue
  • Help you sleep better
  • Increase the levels of serotonin (the “feel-good” hormone) in the brain, and it will uplift your mood
  • Increases the levels of endorphins
  • Decreases the stress hormone levels (cortisol)
  • Increase relaxation
  • Reduce anxiety and depression
  • Reduce the need for pain medication

8 Low-Impact Exercise to Reduce Fibromyalgia Pain

1. Walking

Walking is a smooth, pleasant, light, and minimum effort exercise. It increases the oxygen supply in the body, tones the muscles, reduce stiffness and pain. Walk regularly, as little as 15-30 minutes a day (it doesn’t have to be a long or vigorous walk) to have benefits.

Walk Ideas:

  • Outdoors (around your house, in the garden, in a park, to the supermarket nearby, and so on) – for extra stability, use trekking poles.
  • Indoors on an elliptical or treadmill machine – this way, you will never miss your favorite TV show.

2. Gardening

Even if gardening doesn’t seem like exercise, it’s good for your joints. This type of everyday activity helps people with fibromyalgia move with minimal effort and pain while doing something useful, too, at the same time.

It is a pleasurable hobby that is good for your body and mind alike. Staying outside, in nature, gives your body the possibility to regenerate and restore, too.

3. Stretching

Again, we’re talking about gentle stretching exercises without exaggerating the movements. Move the joints as far as you can, without reaching the pain point.

Best Tips While Stretching for Fibromyalgia:

  • Always start with a warming up set of exercises.
  • Never go beyond the pain point
  • Hold the stretch as long as you can, without stress.

4. Aerobics

Aerobics sounds like fun. Find a fun aerobics videotape, a YouTube video, or online class and let’s move it, move it. Aerobic exercises are light, easy, and enjoyable. Put some music on and let’s bring the 80’s aerobics back in.
And if it doesn’t hurt you too much, you can wear some 80’s colorful and shiny aerobics clothes for more fun.

5. Aquatic Activity

Swimming, water aerobics, and other water-related therapies are great for people who suffer from chronic pain. The warm water combined with light exercises can help your muscles relax, and your joints move easier reducing overall pain. Research showed that exercising in water is better than aerobics, stretching, and strengthening exercises to relieve fibromyalgia pain.

6. Pilates

Pilates is another ideal type of physical exercise for fibromyalgia, as its low-impact exercises don’t put a strain on the already painful muscles and don’t increase fatigue. It coordinates slow, gentle movements with breathing and awareness to align your body with your mind. When you take a Pilates class, your trainer can assign you a personalized set of exercises for your specific situation.

Recommended Pilates for Fibromyalgia:

  • Pelvic clocks
  • Neutral pelvis
  • Bent knew falls outs
  • Spine stretch forward
  • Bridging
  • Heel slides
  • Standing footwork
  • Ribcage arms
  • Chest lifts

7. Yoga

Hatha yoga includes self-care exercises such as static and dynamic corporal postures, relaxation, breathing exercises, and meditation. It is a gentle form of physical activities that significantly reduces pain, and improves well-being.

Restorative yoga is especially helpful for people with fibromyalgia because it uses various props like blankets, pillows, straps, foam blocks, and bolsters to help you hold the poses longer and easier, without any strain or pain, in a relaxed way.

The calm and relaxing yoga exercises promote emotional and mental relaxation, preparing you for a good sleep and it reduces pain-related stress. It slows down the heart rate, reduces tensions in the muscles, calms down the nervous system, and increasing the blood flow, in a deep state of relaxation, allowing your body to restore and rejuvenate.

Recommended Yoga Postures to Reduce Fibromyalgia Pain:

  • Mountain pose
  • Standing forward bend
  • Warrior pose
  • Cobra pose
  • Legs up the wall
  • Child’s pose
  • Corpse pose

Yoga classes are accessible in most cities or if you find it hard to attend a session in town, turn to YouTube, download an app or online Yoga classes.

8. Tai Chi

A smooth, slow motion, gentle, controlled standing poses, Tai Chi seems like a slow-mo dance. It reduces stress, induces a state of inner peace, and calmness, and promotes increased awareness on our body in a mindful way. It is safe and effective for people who have fibromyalgia.

Exercise to Ease Fibromyalgia Pain

Remember, when you feel achy to get up and move. Performing low Impact exercise on a regular basis will help not only relieve your body of its sore muscles, but it will also have a much greater impact on your overall health.